Thursday, September 22, 2016

Kasich, the Presidential Candidate You Probably Don't Remember, Will Stump in San Antonio Saturday

Remember when this year's GOP presidential race was a legit circus? Donald Trump called Mexicans rapists and cracked jokes about dick size while Ted Cruz, when he wasn't making machine-gun bacon, was out on the campaign trail telling little girls "the world's on fire." Ben Carson, meanwhile, explained to the American people how bad he used to be at stabbing people. Floridians Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush looked like adults forced to awkwardly hang with the problem kids.

Then there was Ohio Gov. John Kasich who, much like Bush, probably would've been considered a top establishment contender any other year. But even before he dropped out of the race, Kasich himself started to joke about how little attention he was getting amid the crowded, bat-shit field. During one of his final GOP debates, hosted at the University of Houston earlier this year, Kasich even asked Cruz, "How do you always get so much time to talk?"

That is the guy the campaign for San Antonio Congressman Will Hurd plans to bring to town this weekend to stump for the embattled first-term Republican. As the Texas Tribune reports, this Saturday Kasich is expected to show up in San Antonio to rally Hurd's supporters much like Gov. Greg Abbott did this past weekend, when Abbott called Hurd the "rookie of the year."

Kasich's stop comes as Hurd continues to distance himself from Trump, who, if you believe the polls, has seen remarkably shaky support in what's usually a deep red state. While Hurd's Democratic challenger, Alpine's Pete Gallego, has tried to make Trump's candidacy a liability for Hurd in the fiercely competitive race for the sprawling South Texas district, Hurd has remained among those very few Texas Republican politicians unwilling to hitch a ride on the Trump bandwagon – even as state GOP leaders continue to throw an enormous amount of shade at Cruz for snubbing Trump during the party's national convention earlier this year.

While Hurd's taken heat from Democrats for failing to outright condemn Trump, Kasich's assist this weekend might be further sign of his stance. Kasich has been among the loudest lamenting Trump's stamp on the conservative party (perhaps because he's hoping his anti-Trump bonafides could help in an eventual 2020 run for the White House).

So even though voters never really seemed to notice Kasich all that much, it looks like he might still be useful – at least for one embattled South Texas Republican.